Bottle stopper



May 2, 1967 D. M. TEETER 3,317,071 v BOTTLE STOPPER Filed July 16, 1965 HIUlllllllll-IH FIG 3B INVENTOR. DESMOND M. TEETER ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,317,071 BGTTLE STOPPER Desmond M. Teeter, 5807 Charles Ave, El Cerrito, Calif. 94530 Filed July 16, 1965, Ser. No. 472,461 4 Claims. (Cl. 215-54) This invention relates to a bottle stopper. In the prior art, many devices have been constructed which are adapted to seal the mouth of bottles subsequent to the removal of their permanent caps. Most devices heretofore employed stopper means which react against the surface of the bottle by the inherent resilience of the material employed. Other stoppers, such as the common cork, rely on the compression of the body carried within the mouth against the side walls of the mouth to effect sealing. In the latter case, however, there is the disadvantage of requiring the cork to be in rather specific dimensional relationship to the mouth of the bottle in order to form an adequate seaL.

In the present invention there is provided a novel compression actuated stopper which is adaptable to fit into and seal bottles having a fairly wide range of opening dimensions.

An object of this invention is to provide a sealing device for sealing the contents within a bottle in which a resilient body is formed with a concentric conical core forming a bore tapering upwardly and inwardly, the slope of the bore continually increasing toward its innermost point and in which a rigid semi-spherical piston is positionable to different positions within the conical body to vary the compression against the outer wall of the resilient body against the mouth of the bottle and concentrating said compression radially outward to a relatively small cylindrical contact area of the resilient skirt and the plugged orifice neck with the maximum of mechanical advantage.

A feature and advantage of this invention lies in the fact that the sealing relationship between the stopper and the bottle is positive due to the interposition of the mass of the resilient material to a small cylindrical area between the piston member and the bottle wall.

A further object of this invention is to provide a bottle stopper having a constant diameter rigid piston which is reciprocally movable in combination with the resilient body having a normal fixed diameter in which the piston is arranged for reciprocal movement within the conical body. The diameter of the piston is similar to the diameter of the widest portion of the conical opening, and thus when reciprocated to positions of reduced diameter will force the outer diameter of the resilient body outwardly.

One of the features and advantages of this invention lies in the fact that the further the piston moves into the bore of the resilient member the greater will be the mass of material existing between the piston and the bore of the botle. Thus, because of the increased mass of material with the increase of sealing pressure there will be an increased sealing force concentrated at a cylindrical surface between the orifice neck and resilient body. Although increasing sealing pressure will tend to expand the contact area between the resilient skirt and the orifice, maximum pressure will be concentrated at a relatively small cylindrical area, providing a maximum seal with a minimum of effort.

A further feature and advantage of this invention lies in the fact that the piston can be actuated with spring returns or can alternatively be actuated by other actuating means, such as a threaded screw type mechanism.

An additional feature and advantage of this invention is the fact that the concentric conical bore in the resilient skirt in combination with the semi-spherical piston allows an eflicient seal to be created with a relatively small axial movement of said piston relative to said skirt. The user may thus employ force through a minimum distance to obtain an efficient seal.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent after referring to the following specification and attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the principal embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a side-elevational view showing the device inserted in a bottle.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are schematic views showing the difference of outside contour in which FIG. 3A shows the device with a piston in the lower position and FIG. 3B shows the piston raised upwardly into the bore of the stopper; and

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of an alternative embodiment of the invention.

Referring now to the drawings and with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the stopper of this invention comprises a cylindrical base 15 to which is attached a cylindrical resilient cylinder 16. The cylinder 16 can be formed of rubber or of resilient plastic material which is preferably compatible with the fluids to be contained within the container that the device is adapted to seal. The outer diameter or face 1 8 is in its normal condition arranged in a substantially straight cylindrical configuration. The interior of cylinder 16 is formed with a concentric conical bore 20 with the widest diameter section being at the bottom at 21 and the narrowest section being at the top 22. The sides of the concentric bore taper upwardly and inwardly with the slope of the bore continually increasing toward its innermost point. A semi-spherical piston actuating shaft 25 is adapted for reciprocal movement through an aperture 28 formed in base 15 and the upper portion 22 of bore 20. A piston 30 is mounted at the bottom end of shaft 25 by a pivotal connecting fitting 31. The top face of piston 30 is formed in a semi-spherical configuration at 32 for smooth tangential slidable engagement with the varying slope of the bore of resilient cylinder 16. The outer diameter of piston 30 is formed of a diameter substantially equal to the widest diameter of bore 20. The bottom portion of the resilient cylinder 16 is sealed by a diaphragm 35 to completely enclose the piston for sanitary reasons. The bottom face of piston 30' is formed with a concave face 38 to allow the fitting 31 to be attached thereto without damage to diaphragm 35. A threaded cap or nut 40 is mounted at the top of base 15 which is threadably engaged with shaft 25. Journaled to shaft 25 at its upper extremity is a knurled knob 42.

In operation, the knurled knob 42 is turned in engagement with nut 40 to position piston 30 at the bottom of cylinder 16. In the aforesaid position the diameter of the resilient cylinder is uniform. In this condition the stopper is inserted into the mouth of a bottle 45. Thereafter, knurled knob is rotated to force piston 30 upwardly. As piston 30 is reciprocated in the upward direction by force of the threads of shaft 25 against nut 40 the piston will rise within conical bore 20 of the resilient cylindrical cylinder 16. This action functions to increase the mass of resilient material existing between the piston and the mouth of bottle 45, thus increasing the diameter of cylinder 16 to eifect the sealing action. It can thus be seen that the further the piston is moved upwardly the tighter will be the sealing engagement. Thus, the stopper of this invention affords the advantage of allowing the operator to allow the amount of pressure desired to effect adequate sealing function. Removal of the stopper is obtained -by reversing the procedure that is, by turning knurled knob 42 in the opposite direction to move the piston downwardly, thereby relieving the expansion of resilient cylinder '16-. With piston 30 in the lower position, the stopper can be readily removed from the bottle. This action is fully demonstrated in reference to the two schematic views of FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B.

As an alternative embodiment of the invention, as shown in FIG. 4, there is provided a stopper having a body portion 50 upon which is mounted a resilient cylinder 51 identical to cylinder 16, as previously described. Within body 50 is provide-d a compress-ion spring 52, spring-urged against a washer 53. Washer 53 is attached to a reciprocating shaft 54 so that the pressure against the washer will cause the shaft to move in an upward direction, as indicated by arrow 55. The top of shaft 54 is provided with a knob 58. The top of housing 50 is provided with a T-shaped handle 60 through the stem 61 of which shaft 54 is slidably mounted. It can thus be seen that depression of shaft 54 can be acquired by grasping the underside of handle 60 and applying pressure via the thumb to button 58. The bottom end of shaft 54 is provide-d with a piston 65 identical to piston 30 in the embodiments of FIGS. 1 and 2.

In operation, it can be seen that the spring pressure of spring 52 will normally force piston 65 upwardly to a position of increased bore diameter. To insert the device within a bottle it is necessary to depress button 58 which will position piston 65 in the lower position, as seen in FIG. 4. With the piston in the aforesaid lower position, the cylinder 51 is of substantially uniform exterior dimension and is easily inserted within the mouth of a bottle, such as indicated at 68. -Upon release of the button 58, after insertion in the bottle, piston 65 will rise due to the action of spring 52 against washer 53, thus causing the piston to move to an area of reduced bore diameter for compression of the resilient material against the inner wall of the bottle. Subsequent removal of the stopper is, of course, obtained by depressing again button 58 to reposition piston 65 at its lower position to bring the cylindrical member back to uniform or smaller diameter.

While one embodiment of this invention has been shown and described, it will be apparent that other adaptations and modifications can be made without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A stopper having a resilient cylindrical member with a substantially constant outer diameter and having an inner concentric conical bore said bore tapering upwardly and inwardly, the slope of said here continually increasing in a direction toward its innermost point, a semispherical piston mounted within said bore having a diameter approximating the Widest diameter of said conical bore, and positioning means for moving said piston longitudinally of said cylinder to position said piston at various areas of reduced diameter within said cylinder, said piston co-acting in the areas of reduced diameter by extending pressure outwardly to cause a spherical expansion of said resilient cylindrical member which is restricted to a portion of the otherwise-constant diameter cylindrical skirt.

2. A stopper according to claim 1 wherein said positioning means compirses a shaft threadably engaged with a cylindrical skirt said skirt being mounted at the top of the cylindrical member said shaft being journaled to said piston.

3. A stopper according to claim 1 and wherein said positioning means and piston are covered by a thin resilient membrane.

4. A stopper according to claim 1 wherein the positioning means is provided with spring means normally urging said piston to areas of reduced diameter in the conical bore, and means associated with said stopper for urging said piston against spring tension and into areas of greater diameter in the conical bore.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 932,948 8/1909 Baxter 215-53 2,021,259 11/1935 Magnuson 215-52 2,199,964 5/1940 Rook 2,439,628 4/ 1948 Kopecky 21554 2,538,288 1/1951 W-hitsel 21552 X 2,634,881 4/1953 Grenfell 21554 X JOSEPH L. LECLAIR, Primary Examiner. D. F. NORTON, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A STOPPER HAVING A RESILIENT CYLINDRICAL MEMBER WITH A SUBSTANTIALLY CONSTANT OUTER DIAMETER AND HAVING AN INNER CONCENTRIC CONICAL BORE TAPERING UPWARDLY AND INWARDLY, THE SLOPE OF SAID BORE CONTINUALLY INCREASING IN A DIRECTION TOWARD ITS INNERMOST POINT, A SEMISPHERICAL PISTON MOUNTED WITHIN SAID BORE HAVING A DIAMETER APPROXIMATING THE WIDEST DIAMETER OF SAID CONICAL BORE, AND POSITIONING MEANS FOR MOVING SAID PISTON LONGITUDINALLY OF SAID CYLINDER TO POSITION SAID PISTON AT VARIOUS AREAS OF REDUCED DIAMETER WITHIN SAID CYLINDER, SAID PISTON CO-ACTING IN THE AREAS OF REDUCED DIAMETER BY EXTENDING PRESSURE OUTWARDLY TO CAUSE A SPHERICAL EXPANSION OF SAID RESILIENT CYLINDRICAL MEMBER WHICH IS RESTRICTED TO A PORTION OF THE OTHERWISE-CONSTANT DIAMETER CYLINDRICAL SKIRT. 